A former Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney broker, who is already in jail for fraud, was indicted again in connection with a nearly two-decade-long scheme to drain clients’ investment and bank accounts, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Carmen M. Ortiz.
Jane E. O'Brien, 61, of Needham, Mass., was charged Feb. 27 in an eight-count indictment with mail fraud, wire fraud and investment adviser fraud.
The indictment charges that between 1995 and 2013, O’Brien misappropriated funds entrusted to her through a variety of means, including persuading clients to withdraw money from their bank and brokerage accounts and give the money to her to invest on their behalf.
Instead of investing it, O’Brien used the funds for a variety of purposes, including paying personal expenses, and paying returns or repaying personal loans to other clients. Ortiz did not specify the number of clients defrauded or the total amount of money involved.
In one case, O’Brien allegedly had the person empty her Smith Barney brokerage account and give the proceeds to O’Brien, and then had her borrow an additional $1 million on her home and give much of that money to O’Brien to invest.
In another case, the indictment charges O’Brien had a client empty her Merrill Lynch brokerage account and give the proceeds to her to invest in a Hollywood movie called Crooked Arrows.
In December 2012, O’Brien was convicted in a separate matter of securities fraud after pleading guilty to a scheme to defraud a client of $240,000 by selling her a security that did not exist. She was sentenced to 33 months in prison and is currently serving that sentence.